Club for Growth, Heritage Action Oppose Ex-Im Bank Bill

The conservative Club for Growth and Heritage Action groups have come out against a bill crafted by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.

Many conservatives object to the Ex-Im Bank, because it provides government subsidies – export financing for U.S. companies, The Hill reports. But most business groups support the bill, including the Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). They note that Ex-Im financing isn’t a free lunch, because it charges fees to users.

That argument doesn’t sway opponents. “While supporters of the Ex-Im Bank claim that it is self-sufficient and doesn't add to the federal deficit, the real problem is that the bank's financing helps some companies to the detriment of other firms and taxpayers,” Club for Growth Vice President Andy Roth told The Hill.

“A prime example, among many, is the bank providing financing for foreign airlines to buy American aircraft, thus allowing those companies to better compete against American airlines.” The Club thinks the bank should be shut down.

Heritage Action's communications director, Dan Holler, said in a statement: "The Ex-Im Bank is properly viewed as the Fannie Mae for exporters: expanding its high-risk business while claiming low-risk. Although the House Ex-Im reauthorization does contain some minor tweaks and reforms, it does not change the nature of the taxpayer-backed bank, nor does it begin the process of winding down the bank’s intervention in our economy.”

NAM Senior Vice President Aric Newhouse sees it differently, of course, The Hill reports. "The Ex-Im Bank is one of the only tools manufacturers in the United States have to counter hundreds of billions of dollars of export financing that foreign governments offer to their exporters,” he said in a statement. “Denying Ex-Im reauthorization will hurt manufacturers of every size and threaten thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs.”